Increase in litter from lorry drivers using lay-bys on A43 prompts council to spend £40,000 on new bins

Councillor Dermot Bambridge, South Northants Council's portfolio for environmental services with one of the new bin units installed in an A43 lay-by near Croughton

While the central reservation can only be litter picked with permission from Highways England and can require costly lane closures, the lay-bys can be freely litter picked by the South Northamptonshire Council Cleansing Team.

However the increasing number of lorries using the A43 lay-bys overnight has resulted in a rise in the amount of litter.

Twenty-eight double framed units, capable of holding two wheelie bins will now be installed along the length of the dual carriage. Some lay-bys will require more than one unit and the entire south Northants stretch of the A43 will be covered over several phases.

Dermot Bambridge, SNC’s portfolio holder for environmental services, said: “I’m very proud of our record on street cleaning in our town centre streets and on our rural roads.

“So I am disappointed when I see the state of the A43. It is not reflective of the rest of the district, but that is all that some people will see, especially those visiting high profile events at places like Silverstone.

“I therefore think it is important we do as much as we can to ensure that the A43, which is effectively the gateway to south Northants, is clean and presentable.”

SNC shares its street cleaning team with Cherwell District Council which utilises the same kind of units on the sections of the A43 it covers, as well as on sections of the A34.

The installation of waste units in lay-bys on these sections road has seen a 50 per cent reduction in the amount of litter.